Spring Beneath the Moon

[Time travel + two male leads]

Demon Slayer fanfiction, main pairing: Yoriichi Tsugikuni and Michikatsu Tsugikuni; side pairings are open to suggestions.

"Apologies for any out-of-character moments"

The original Yoriichi transmigrates into a parallel world where the Mark’s curse has taken effect and he died at twenty-five. There, he encounters Kokushibo, who became a demon long ago: Michikatsu Tsugikuni of that world.

The timing is delicate. The Michikatsu of the Taisho era has been a demon for centuries, while Yoriichi has just been pulled from his days as a new recruit in the Demon Slayer Corps. At this age, he should have died. He should have become the short-lived genius spoken of in hushed tones by the Corps. He should have left Michikatsu turning over the image of his little brother throughout his long demonic life, until hatred and longing fermented into the same bitter ache.

But now Yoriichi stands here, breathing steadily, his Mark dormant as if asleep, with room left in his bones for the curse to take hold.

And Michikatsu, Kokushibo, watches as his six eyes slowly turn in the moonlight. Countless eyeballs emerge on his blade, yet he still does not unleash the first form of Moon Breathing. He has waited too long for his little brother, so long that even his memories have begun to crumble, until the four characters of “Yoriichi Tsugikuni” are nothing more than a blurred outline, like a letter soaked to pulp in water.

The others from the first generation of the Demon Slayer Corps will never know of this encounter. In their memories, Yoriichi was a silent swordsman, a genius who died young, a symbol no one ever truly understood. But in Michikatsu’s memories, Yoriichi was the child who said, “My brother’s dream is my dream,” the one he wanted both to embrace and to tear apart.

Two people torn apart by time have reunited at the wrong coordinates.

This was written on a whim, so don’t overthink it while reading.